International Student Center hosted a closing ceremony of Japanese Language and Culture Studies/Japanese Society and Culture Program at Business Incubation Center, 11 am, Thursday, August 21, 2014.
Japanese Language and Culture Studies, which is a one-year intensive course, is designed for Japanese Government Scholarship recipients and exchange students from sister universities to learn Japanese language and culture.
Japanese Society and Culture Program is introduced for students from sister universities who wish to study Japanese society and culture in addition to Japanese language.
A total of 11 students including 10 Japanese Language and Culture Studies course students and 1 Japanese Society and Culture Program student who entered Gifu University last October attended the ceremony.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Dr. Fumiaki Suzuki, Executive Director in charge of International Affairs and Public Relations, made a congratulatory speech. Dr. Suzuki gave unstinted praise to students who studied Japanese language and culture a lot and also encouraged them to come back to study at Gifu University Graduate School or any other Japanese university if the opportunity arises.
Following a speech from Dr. Suzuki, Dr. Toyohide Takeuchi, Director of International Student Center, handed a course completion certificate to each student.
During the ceremony, Ms. Yang Xinyi from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (China) and Ms. Ko Migyeong from Mokpo National University (South Korea) expressed their gratitude to teachers on behalf of Japanese Language and Culture Studies course students and had a speech about memories during their stay in Japan, improving their Japanese skills, making Japanese friends, and how difficult to complete a final thesis was.
A Japanese Society and Culture Program student, Mr. Lee Gwang Yeon from Seoul National University of Science and Technology (South Korea) spoke about a memorable episode and also mentioned that he made personal progress through this program showing his appreciation for guidance from teachers.
At the end of ceremony, Dr. Takeuchi congratulated students and made a farewell speech, and we wrapped up the ceremony with a photo session. The students all had a smile proudly and were holding their certificates in the photo. International students who lived and studied together at Gifu University for a year shared their joy in the special moment at the ceremony.

We finished all programs for Japanese Language and Culture Studies course/Japanese Society and Culture Program, and the students return their home countries to continue studying in August or September.
A number of students who finished this course came back to Japan to study at graduate schools including Gifu University or to find employment. We are looking forward to seeing them in Japan again.